


Poor George

by barklytt



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27545755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barklytt/pseuds/barklytt
Summary: Dream's words linger in George's head, even after the war for L'manburg, and after L'manburg turns into Manburg. Will Dream's prophecy come full circle? Will George finally become king?
Relationships: Clay | Dream/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), WHERE IS THE KARLNAP TAG????, Zak Ahmed/Darryl Noveschosch
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. The New King

**Author's Note:**

> This A.U. is placed after Quackity joins Pogtopia, and before he tries to get Schlatt to sign his document

_"_ _L_ _ook, George. Everything the light touches is our kingdom. King's time as a ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day, George, the sun will set on my time here and it will rise with you as the new king."_

Those exact words ran through George’s head, over and over again as the short male sat perched in a tree. He thought over each and every bit of Dream’s odd statement, trying to analyze his words. What was there to analyze, though? Dream made it pretty clear. Once Dream was gone, perhaps dead, George would take his place. He would rule this entire server. There was a rush of excitement at the thought of dozens of people under his control. But did Dream know something that George didn’t..? Was he… dying soon?

George shook his head. Dream knew what he was talking about. He was sure that’s not what he meant. He readjusted the shades on his head, his multicolored eyes staring out at the sunset. It would usually be like any other setting sun, the rays shooting out from behind the horizon line, swirls of deep oranges and pinks flooding the sky, like a wave of paint washed the sky, and eventually revealed it’s original, dark layer. Sunsets in the DreamSMP were always beautiful, but there was something different about this one. George couldn’t put his finger on it, but he felt as if this sunset lasted longer than the other ones in the past. Like this sunset actually meant something. He made sure to keep his eyes glued. This sunset must be important. Unfortunately, a loud, but deep voice from down below interrupted his long moment of peace. “George! Get down from there! We need to head to bed!” 

The short male felt his gaze drop, searching the underbrush for the source of the voice. Ah, of course, it was Sapnap. He always thought sunsets were too sappy. Ones with weaker hearts stared longingly at sunsets. “Give me a little longer, will you?” George spat down, feeling his hand inch over to the tree limb that was beside him. 

Sapnap stared up at George, narrowing his teal eyes. “Don’t take too long. You don’t know what Pogtopia’s plans are. They could ambush at any moment.” The heftier male said, turning and walking back to the forest. From where George had come in, and where Sapnap was going now, that was the direction of which their personal base was. Well, by their, I mean mainly George’s and Sapnap’s now. Dream was spending too much time with Pogtopia, wanting to repair them and take down Schlatt for some reason. The other two had assumed Dream to be the neutral type, for the situation was not upon him, but he had chosen to betray George and Sapnap, and was not going back. The thought of Dream fighting either one of his best friends in order to protect Pogtopia made George’s stomach churn. 

_“You traitor!”_

There was so much pain in Sapnap’s voice at that moment. The thought of it only made the knot in George’s stomach tighten. All Dream did was stand there with his sword pointed at Sapnap’s neck. It was almost as if he felt no remorse as he stood there, silently threatening to thrust the sword right into Sapnap. 

George shook his head. He didn’t want to think about that. Dream will come around eventually. He was a loyal leader, is all. They had no real reason to be angry. 

_“I istoría tis zoís,”_ was always something Sapnap had said whenever he and George faced a tough obstacle. It meant ‘the story of life’ in Greek, that everything happens whether you like it or not, and you had to live with it.

“I istoría tis zoís,” George muttered, before turning to climb down the tree. He had wasted his time on useless, however endless thoughts, and the sunset was just about gone. As he reached the grass below, he summoned a torch, and walked back, the only source of light coming from the torch in his hand, and distant light that came from their base and Manburg.

It wasn’t too much longer before George walked past the Dream Team’s small crop farm and swiftly landed on one of the bridges that lead into the large base. George dismissed the torch eventually, opening the door and closing it behind him. Sapnap, who was tampering with one of the furnaces, glanced over to the smaller one who had entered the base. “What’s so special about sunsets anyway?” He questioned, standing up straight and walking over to George.

“They’re pretty,” George said simply, as Sapnap handed him a piece of cooked steak. He muttered a quick “thank you,” before continuing, “in a general sense. But I think this sunset was important! It seemed… longer than the other ones. It was like an aura of importance was coming from it. I wanted to watch it for longer, but _someone_ had to come in and ruin it.” He said, shooting a playful glare at Sapnap.

“Oh, come on, you big wuss, there wasn’t an _aura_ coming from the sunset. I think you’ve been taking Dream’s words too far.”  
  


“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, George! When my sun of reign sets, your sun of reign will rise! And you will be the new king!” Sapnap said, mocking Dream in a high pitched voice.

“Hey! What if Dream was right?” George couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Oh George!- Huh?” Sapnap stopped his mocking suddenly, and stared puzzled at the other male.

“I mean,” George cleared his throat, “what if… Dream was right about that?”

“Then I think you’d be a pretty badass king.” The raven haired male grinned, ruffling George’s hair.

“No- no, I mean-” The British male swatted at Sapnap’s hand, in which Sapnap soon brought his hand back into his own pocket. “I mean, what if it happens soon? What if… Dream is meant to _die_ soon?”

The Greek man blinked in surprise before shaking his head after a couple of moments, “Don’t- don’t say that, George.” He frowned, turning over to the cluster of chests, opening one up.

“But what if he is? Then-”

“Look, I don’t want to have to imagine Dream’s death, okay? Ever since Schlatt turned on… whatever it was that makes us not respawn after we die, my stress levels just… skyrocketed. I don’t need anyone to die, especially while we’re all in the midst of war.” Sapnap took out a couple of diamonds from the chest, and closed it. 

George nodded after a moment, before Sapnap turned and walked over to one of the crafting tables. George followed, “You really think that I’d be a badass king?” He muttered, peering over Sapnap’s shoulder to see what he was doing. The Greek man looked up from the crafting table, and smiled at George.

“Of course I would.” He said, sincerely. Suddenly, someone came walking into the headquarters. Sapnap and George glanced over to see Dream closing the door behind him, and taking a step forward, before their eyes met. There were a few moments of silent staring, then Sapnap’s sudden movement made George flinch. The raven haired male tossed whatever he was working on down on the table and walked over to Dream, crossing his arms. No words were said between the two of them as they stared at each other. Sapnap’s teal eyes narrowed, as Dream’s green eyes frowned from behind his mask.

Soon enough, Sapnap’s face softened, and he stepped closer to the taller male, and pulled him into a hug. Somehow, he knew Dream was sorry for betraying them in the midst of battle. It was probably the instincts they developed from being in such a long relationship.

George stood by the crafting table still, watching the entire scene lay out before him. They weren’t truly angry at Dream. He knew that, Sapnap knew that… even Dream knew that. If they were really angry at him, he wouldn’t have come back. 

“I missed you, man.” Sapnap muttered into the hug, tightening his arms around Dream. 

The freckled man laughed, “Who said I was gone?”

“I did,” George walked over with a calm smile. He set a hand on Dream’s shoulder, before Sapnap broke away from the hug. “Welcome back, I guess.” George shrugged a bit, maintaining his smile.

Dream smiled back, “Thanks, ‘I guess’.” He mocked with a slight chuckle. “But- in all seriousness…” he stepped back a bit, George’s hand naturally falling back at his side, “I- I never meant to betray you guys… How could I? They don’t call us the Dream _Team_ for nothing…” 

“We knew you would come back, right George?” Sapnap smirked pridefully, glancing over to the smaller male. All George did was roll his eyes, in which Sapnap laughed in return. Dream joined in as well in the laughter, which made George eventually join as well. 

“So what did you guys do while I was gone?” Dream spoke after a few moments of laughter.

“Literally nothing happened.” Sapnap said. “Everything is just as it was when you left.”

Dream smiled, turning on his heel to look around, “Damn, you’re right.” He walked to the other side of the floor, “It’s all the same.”

  
  
“Oh! Wait! George _did_ add something!” Sapnap grinned walking over to a pair of trap doors near the far end of the building. George walked over, along with Dream. Sapnap opened the trap doors, and began climbing down. 

George turned to Dream, “Just so you know, it’s nothing special. Sapnap is making a bigger deal out of it than it should be.” He said, climbing into the bunker, “And Fundy helped with most of it, it was just my idea.” George followed suit after Sapnap. Dream chuckled softly, before being the last one into the bunker. He closed the trap doors behind him, leaving the main floor of the headquarters empty, until a strange, dark mist clouded outside the doors.

Eventually, the three of them arrived in a small room that was a ways down underground. They landed with a soft thump onto the deep, soft dirt. Sapnap summoned a torch, and the others eventually did as well. On the other side of the room, was a small contraption.

“What’s that?” Dream asked, walking over to it.

George cleared his throat roughly, walking over to Dream, afraid that the other would break the contraption or tamper with it in some way, “This is a loudspeaker system Fundy and I built. Pressing this-“ he gestured to the large button, “-activates the redstone behind this wall, and also activates the other speakers that are connected into every other building, along with speakers on the pathways.” 

“Woah, George is getting serious.” Sapnap grinned, walking over to them, “But isn’t it cool, Dream?” He beamed, looking over to the tallest man. 

Dream thought for a moment, “…So if I press the button, can everyone hear me?”

“Yes.” George nodded. “Don’t even think about-“ But it was too late, whatever George was about to tell Dream not to do, Dream was already doing it. 

“Ahem.” Dream held the button down, “Hello, DreamSMP, I would like to make an announcement that George is a pussy! Alright, that’s it, goodnight!” He let go of the button, wheezing like a tea kettle. Sapnap joined in with his obnoxious choked up giggling. George glared at the other two, mainly Dream, for the insult. 

“Come on, George! That was funny!” Sapnap said through laughs. George neutrally stared down the Greek male. On the other hand, Dream could barely stand up properly from laughing so hard. Sapnap took a glance at the side chat. 

**TommyInnit: WHAT THE HELL DREAM?!?!**

**Quackity: YEAHHH SAY IT LOUDER!!!**

**Tubbo_: meow?**

**BadBoyHalo: Why is George a cat?**

Chaos. Utter chaos. Soon enough, the laughter calmed down, and Sapnap and Dream regained their composure. George walked over to the wall, summoned a shovel, and dug open the covered hole that led to the redstone, “It’s not completely done yet.” He said as he dug, “Might take at least four more days until it’s fully done. We want this loudspeaker to reach Pogtopia’s headquarters somehow.” He said, turning to the other two, “You guys head to bed, I’ll be there soon.” He said with a smile, before walking back into the redstone area.

Sapnap and Dream glanced at each other, before Sapnap leaned over to see a glimpse of George before he fully disappeared, “Okay, don’t- don’t stay up too late…!” He said, halfheartedly. His enthusiastic grin fell almost immediately as he turned back to Dream, “He’s been staying up late these past few nights… I’m really worried about him.” He said, walking back to the ladder, and dispersing his torch.

Dream shook his head slightly, “I wouldn’t be too worried, he wants to do what he believes is best for us.”

“Mhm.” Sapnap muttered, climbing the ladder. Dream frowned, following suit. Once the two reached the top again, they barely took notice of the smoke outside. Either they couldn’t see it, because it was too dark outside, or they were too overwhelmed with stress. Sapnap turned to the crafting table. He was crafting an axe before they got interrupted. His eyes peeled from the unfinished axe, and drifted over to Dream. 

The taller male walked over, setting a hand on Sapnap’s shoulder, “If George wasn’t okay, he would tell us.” He said, frowning behind his mask.

“…Would he?” Sapnap countered with concern, in which Dream nodded. Sapnap fell silent for a few moments, his gaze falling to the floor, “Uhm, should we… sleep now?” He said, looking back up. 

“Oh, yeah.” Dream dropped his hand from Sapnap’s shoulder, and walked over to the staircase. Sapnap followed. The staircase led up to a hallway that led into separate rooms, one for each of the three people who lived there. Sapnap suddenly stopped in the hallway, staring off into space. Dream turned around at the sound of only one pair of feet hitting the wooden planked floor. “What’s wrong?” He asked his best friend.

“Who’s side are you on, Dream?” Sapnap asked. He was losing hope, and it could be heard in his voice. He was losing hope on a lot of people.

Dream stared in shock for a moment, before taking off his mask, and walking over, “Sapnap… you don’t doubt me, do you?”

“ _Who’s side are you on, Dream._ ” Sapnap pressed.

The freckled man frowned further, pocketing his mask, “I’m the leader of this entire server, I’m neutral on most things that go on here. I could be on everyone’s side, and I could be on no one’s side. It doesn’t matter who’s side I’m on, you guys are still my friends.”

Sapnap blinked, his frown softening a little, “You mean that?”

“Of course I do, Sapnap.” Dream chuckled, “We’ve been friends ever since we were kids, I’m not ending our friendship over a war of nations.”

“Our connection is too strong.” The Greek man laughed slightly. 

“Exactly.” Dream said, leaning forward and bumping his lips onto Sapnap’s forehead.

“Was that on purpose?” Sapnap questioned.

“A reassuring kiss. But not a kiss. More of a bump.” Dream explained.

“God you’re weird.” The shorter male snorted.

“Like you’re not any weirder!” Dream scoffed, putting his mask back on and turning around. Sapnap rolled his eyes as the two of them made it down the hallway. Sapnap sent a wave to Dream as he turned to his bedroom, before turning to his own. He walked in, closing the door behind him. He then paced to his bed, sitting on the edge. 

Sapnap was slowly losing hope in everyone around him, even his best friends. He didn’t know who to trust, anyone can betray him at any moment. Is this what Schlatt wanted? Did he mean to create this looming distrust around everyone? 

The Greek man sighed, sitting up from the bed and changing into something more comfortable to sleep in. He eventually hopped back into bed, grabbing one of his pillows and wrapping his arms around it. As he began to drift off to sleep, he swore he heard the sound of footsteps in the hall.

…

“ **_WAKE UP SAPNAP!!!_ **” He had woken up to the unsettling sound of banging pots and pans and a high pitched, annoying voice. One that didn’t belong to Dream or George. It was soon followed up by obnoxious laughter. Sapnap knew who it was now. He groaned, sitting up and opening his eyes. That laugh couldn’t belong to no one other than…

“Skeppy? What the hell are you doing here?” Sapnap said tirely, rubbing his eyes.

“Mainly because I’m bored, but on a side note, Karl wants you to actually remember that you guys have one of your ‘special meetings’ tonight, or whatever. Sounds kinda weird.” Skeppy shrugged, readjusting his hoodie.

“Wh- it’s not weird! We meet up and talk! Catch up with each other!” Sapnap spat, standing out of the bed.

“Weirdchamp. Anyway, I missed you, that’s all, okay bye.” Skeppy patted Sapnap’s hair, before turning around and walking to the door.

“Okay, whatever, bye Skep.” Sapnap chuckled a bit, waving after him. The thoughts that were on his mind from last night still lingered as he stretched his arms in the air. So many betrayals have occurred, Eret betraying L’Manburg, Tubbo and Quackity betraying Manburg, Dream betraying almost everyone at once… 

No, no he can’t think about that right now. He had other stuff to do. The Greek man changed into clothes he would usually wear, and did his hair quickly. “Just… keep your guard up.” He muttered to himself, before leaving the room, his mind still in shambles.

…

It was now evening on the same day. Dream was absent from the base for some reason, so Sapnap had been talking to George for a majority of the day, trying to check in on him the best he could, regarding his sleep schedule. George, of course, called him a worry wuss every time he did, and told him to shut up about the matter, and that he was okay, but Sapnap wouldn’t stop there. He cared too deeply about his friends. A little too much. At the same time, he kept reminding himself to keep your guard up about trust, and to not act vulnerable around everyone, but it was too overwhelming for him.

However, there was one person Sapnap knew he could trust with his entire life basically. Someone he could let his guard down in front of. Someone he trusted even more than he trusted Dream. And that person was one of his close friends, Karl. 

The two don’t talk much, but when they do, it always fills Sapnap up with so much happiness. It’s like he’s taking a break from everything around him when he’s with Karl. It was like an escape. 

They would meet in the spot they usually would, near the Prime Church. Sapnap swiftly made his way down the litted trail, readjusting his Netherite armor. He summoned his sword, just in case. He never knew what the others’ plans were, and it was dark out. He took a sharp turn, heading towards the Prime Church. There, of course, was Karl, standing by the entrance. Sapnap desummoned the sword as he got closer to the other male. It was almost as if the hairs that stood on end fell. As if a wave of calmness washed over him the closer he got to Karl.

“Hey Sapnap, long time no see.” Karl teased.

“Shut up, I’m forgetful!” Sapnap grinned, passing Karl and stepping into the church. Karl followed.

“Soooo, what have you been up to?” The two sat in one of the benches.

Sapnap turned to Karl at the question, “Uh, well… George is still acting… odd. He’s staying up late working on things… I’m worried for his health.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Oh,” Karl blinked in surprise, “well, are you trying to get him out of the habit?” He asked, summoning an apple, for some reason.

Sapnap seemed to ignore the random apple, “I am! I’ve told him about my concern plenty of times. He doesn’t listen.”

Karl then took out an apple peeler, and began to peel the apple in his hand, “Maybe force it down his throat.” Karl said. “That sounded weird- I swear I didn’t mean it that way.”  
  


The Greek man chuckled, “I know what you meant. And I’ve tried that too.”

“Then I guess it’s his fault for being stupid with his sleep schedule.” The man in the tie dye hoodie shrugged, still peeling the apple.

“But-” Sapnap finally took notice of what Karl was doing, and stopped. “… Karl what are you doing?”

The other man took a bite of the peeled apple, before looking back at Sapnap, “Apple!” He chirped, his mouth full of the fruit. 

Sapnap narrowed his eyes, visibly confused, before breaking out into laughter. He shook his head, before resting his forehead on his hand, still laughing.

“What? I’m hungry!” Karl laughed as well, before a noise could be heard from outside. The sound of someone stepping in the grass.

The happiness in Sapnap drained in an instant. He leaned up, the hairs on the back up his neck prickling once more. He looked out the window, in the direction of the noise. It was too dark out there to see anything, so he stood up, summoning a sword, and heading outside. Karl blinked, watching Sapnap walk off. “It’d be way too reckless to attack us like this,” Karl mumbled, before following the Greek man outside.

“Who goes there?!” Sapnap yelled into the darkness, grasping his sword. Then, there was a sudden light source. Someone had summoned a torch, revealing who they were. Punz stood there in the light with furrowed eyebrows.

“Oh, hi Punz,” Sapnap mumbled in embarrassment, dispersing the sword in his hand. 

“What were you trying to do? Kill me?” Punz asked, lowering the torch, and narrowing his eyes even more.

“No…? I thought you were someone else, so I panicked, sorry.” Sapnap said, awkwardly messing with his hands.

Puns only laughed, “You’re too paranoid.” 

“What?”

“You’re too paranoid,” He repeated, “Pogtopia would be way too stupid to attack right now. The fact that it’s dark, and the fact that we’re one of the top players in this server, it’d be stupid. Don’t worry too much.” 

Sapnap frowned a bit, before nodding, “What are you doing out so late anyway?” He asked.

“Nothing, I’m just bored.” Punz said.

“Oh,” Sapnap laughed a bit, “Well, uh- this is awkward- I’ll let you do your own thing, then,” he backed away, turning to head back into the church. Karl followed as well, leaving Punz in the darkness. The blond dispersed his torch, before continuing on. 

The two from before sat back down on the bench, silence washing over them, before; “What was that for?” Karl asked. 

Sapnap shrugged, “We’re on Hardcore mode now, I think my defense is on autopilot.”

“Well turn it off!” Karl complained, “It’s scaring me! And I’m sure it’s scaring the others too!”

The Greek man chuckled a little at Karl’s concerned tone, “I don’t know how.” The other man huffed, taking another bite of his apple. Sapnap smiled, leaning back into the chair. “You really just carry an apple peeler wherever you go?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Karl said, his mouth full of apples, “You don’t?”

“Well, no, I don’t, because I’m not WEIRD.” Sapnap retorted. Despite his tone, there was a giant grin on his face.

“Oh okay, and Sapnap; Mister-screams-a-lot, is not weird?” Karl arched a brow. 

The hairs on the back of Sapnap’s neck bristled, “I do NOT SCREAM.” He pressed.

“You literally just screamed!!” 

“No, no I didn’t.”

“Yes you did!!” They both ended up laughing, as Sapnap gave a playful shove to the other boy. After a few moments, the two stopped laughing, and looked around the church. “Didn’t you build this?” Karl asked the other.

“Yeah, Ponk helped,” Sapnap turned around to see the lettering on the ground and the purple decor. “Oh, I forgot we put that in,” he laughed.

“Put what in?” Karl followed Sapnap’s eyes over to the lettering. “Oh, haha! It says ‘POG’!” He pointed.

“Astute observation,” Sapnap commented sarcastically, glancing over to Karl with a smirk.

“Shut up!” The other male laughed, ruffling the Greek man’s hair.

“Hey! Hey! My buns!!” Sapnap swatted at Karl’s hand, but the ruffling only became more intense, as if he were trying to ruin the buns on purpose. “My space buns!! Stop it!!” He continued to complain. Karl brought up both of his hands to Sapnap’s hair, and he ruffled the other’s hair twice as much now. “STOP IT!!” He shouted louder, despite the giggling tone in his voice, and slapped Karl’s hands more. 

Once Karl was content with what he had done, he removed his hands from the other boy’s hair, placing them in his own lap. Sapnap blinked, before feeling his own hair. He sighed. “Alright, then, no use keeping these in if they’re fucked up now.” Sapnap mumbled, taking out the space buns and letting his hair fall over his shoulders. His hair was way longer than it seemed when it was in its usual state. He shook his hair out, before looking back at Karl.

What Sapnap doesn’t exactly know is that Karl messes his hair up on purpose. He tried convincing Sapnap to keep his hair down once or twice, since Karl liked it that way, but Sapnap never complied, so Karl messes up his hair so he has to leave it down until he fixes it again. After seeing Sapnap put down his hair, a wide grin spread across Karl’s face, “Your hair looks much better that way anyway,” he said.

“You tell me that all the time,” The ghost of a smirk appeared on Sapnap’s lips as he fixed his headband. 

“And it’s true!” Karl grinned further.

“You _really_ think so?” The Greek man stared, puzzled. 

“Duh! I wouldn’t lie to you about that…” Karl chuckled, “Dream told me he likes your hair better when it’s down too.”

“A very convincing statement, I guess I _have_ to leave my hair down all the time now…” Sapnap nodded a bit.

“Really?”

“No,” Sapnap cackled. Karl sighed, before looking over at the front of the church. There was a clock on the wall that Karl couldn’t help but to peek at. 

“It’s 12:30 in the morning?!” Karl said in surprise.

“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Sapnap shrugged, “We always meet at midnight.”  
  


“Not my point, nimrod!” Karl lightly hit Sapnap’s head, “We’re supposed to _head back_ at 12:30!”

“Oh right…” The Greek man blinked, “should we go then?”

“I guess,” Karl said, standing up, as he finished eating his apple. Sapnap stood up after Karl, and the two exited the church. They talked for a couple of minutes after, before they went their separate ways. Sapnap summoned a sword and a torch, the calm wave that washed over him sinking back into the sea. He was now alone in the barren. And afraid. 

Luckily, Sapnap made it back to the base. He swept the area with his eyes, checking around for possible danger… Silence… Too much of it. Dream and George showed no sign of being there. It scared him. But he couldn’t worry about it too much. They should be back soon. They were old enough to take care of themselves. These words were repeated in his head as he drifted off to sleep.

George arrived no later than 3 in the morning that very late night. He walked up to the bedroom hall, and peeked into Sapnap’s bedroom. Shit, he was here! Did he notice that George was gone? He sighed, gently closing the door. So what if he did? George was a grown man- older than Sapnap, actually. He was allowed to do whatever he wanted. He was allowed to go places and keep his own privacy. He just hated it. He couldn’t tell anyone where he was, not even his closest friends. The urge to tell them continued to grow, but he always had to shove his words down mid conversation. Sure, he couldn’t keep a secret for the life of him, but this was very important. He couldn’t say anything. He _had_ to keep his mouth shut. For his own safety and theirs.

The Sun’s rays eventually spread across the land, defrosting the morning dew, and washing the cool air away. George stretched and yawned, forcing himself to wake up for the day. He had barely gotten any sleep, but he wasn’t worried about that. He was too tired to worry about anything. The short male stood out of the bed, pushing forward to wake himself up, even if it was hard. The more he woke himself up, the more his brain flowed with ideas. That’s when he had come to the realization. Where was Dream?

He was gone again, he had been gone for about 24 hours now. Was he alright? Probably. He could fend for himself, but George wondered if he was still working with Pogtopia. And Sapnap was probably so worried… But George had other things to do.

He walked out of the bedroom, an overwhelming scent of breakfast food hitting his nostrils. Out of curiosity, George stepped into the front room. He saw Sapnap in the small kitchen they had… making… breakfast? The Greek boy turned around at the sound of another’s footsteps. He grinned, “Geia George!” 

“I still don’t speak Greek, Sap.” George said, sitting down at the table, “I’m not bilingual.”

“You should know now!” Sapnap huffed, “I said ‘hi George’.” He turned back to what he was making.

“What are you making? Shit in a pan?” 

“Hey, I’m a good cook when I try! You’ve just never tried it!” Sapnap spat, flipping one of the pancakes.

“You know what you still need to try? Shutting up.”

“You know what I need to try? Banging your mother.” The two looked at each other for a moment with cold stares, before they both broke out into soft laughter. They always acted so differently when Dream was around. It was almost as if Dream was the one who was keeping them from agreeing and just being friends in general, but they were just show offs. “I’m making pancakes.” Sapnap finally said. 

“Cool,” George said, the amused smile on his face lingering. Sapnap was done soon enough, and handed George a plate of pancakes. “Oh, thanks,” George said, grabbing the syrup, and covering the pancakes. Sapnap grinned, before sitting down across from the older male. “You aren’t eating?”

“I already ate, I’m okay,” Sapnap said, scratching the hairs on his chin. George nodded, taking a bite out of his breakfast.

“Oh, shit, this _is_ good.” George muttered.

“I told you,” The Greek man chuckled. His smile fell again once he popped his next question, “How much sleep did you get last night?”

_Shit, he knows._ “Average amount of sleep I usually get, why?” George replied coolly. 

_He’s lying._ “Oh, just curious, because I came home last night to see you gone.” Sapnap arched a brow.

“I have meetings.”

“What kind of meetings?”

“I can’t tell you…” George’s voice got quieter and quieter with each word.

“Why?”

“I just can’t.”

“You trust me, don’t you?”

“I- I do trust you, Sap, it’s just-”

“Then tell me.”

“It’s for your safety, and Dream’s- and mine even.”

Sapnap felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He hated when things were kept secret from him. Whatever George was doing couldn’t be good. For him, anyway. He was worried. The knot in his stomach rose into his throat, before getting up from the table without a word. He was too choked up on his words to speak.

George’s mismatched gaze followed Sapnap as he walked off. He sighed, continuing to eat. He had to keep _that_ up with just about everyone around him? God, that one confrontation was a challenge, but he knew he would have a ton more. Once George was done, he put away the dish, and went back upstairs to apologize to Sapnap, but he wasn’t here… 

_Odd._ George thought to himself, before heading back downstairs. He decided he’d go out for a bit as well. Sapnap had a good idea, some fresh air couldn’t hurt. But when George walked outside, he was greeted by someone walking past the bamboo. The person felt a gaze on him, and looked back over at George. Mismatched eyes met chocolate brown ones. George recognized the other immediately. Quackity.

“George?!” Quackity called, his feathers bristling. He sounded enraged. The duck boy’s webbed hands curled into fists, as he marched over to the other male. George stared blankly, feeling the Latino’s anger fume off of him, but being unphased by it. “Where the fuck have you been?!” Quackity’s wings flared.

“Hi Quackity,” The slightly taller man waved, casually.

“Hi? That’s it?!” Quackity lashed, “This is all your fault!!”

“What is?”

“Everything! Everything that’s been happening! It’s all your fault!” The duck boy continued, “If you got out for once- just for once- maybe we would have Schlatt under control! Maybe the votes wouldn’t have been fucked up- and _maybe_ we all would’ve been alright! If you would join us for one GODDAMN MINUTE.” Quackity’s words spit out of his mouth like scorching, raging venom, his hands reaching up to the collar of George’s shirt, and grabbing it furiously. He was enraged. 

George stood there, keeping himself calm, counter to the man before him who was only seeing red. “Big Q!” A separate voice called from beyond the bamboo. The two looked over at the voice, only to see what they expected. Tommy rushed over to the fence, calling out to Quackity, “Big Q, leave him alone!” His bright red tail lashed.

Quackity glared, before turning back to George. He stared silently, before shoving George back. He walked off, spitting gulled curses under his breath. The duck boy ruffled his wing feathers, choosing not to look back as he disappeared into the hills with Tommy. George watched him walk off, before bringing his hand up to wipe the spit off of his face. He let Quackity’s words sink in… Was he really at fault?

All of this- Manburg, Pogtopia, Schlatt’s tyranny… was George’s fault? …He had to do something about it. Whatever it was, he had to do something.

…

Yellow. The color of joy, optimism, creativity, and sunshine, in most cultures. A bright, lively color. A color that lifted your spirits. A “yellow” could also represent a person. Someone who brought you happiness. Someone there to reassure you that everything will be okay. Someone you would die for. That next morning, the color had dulled for Sapnap. He looked around. Objects were more grayscaled than he remembered… Objects that would have yellow, or yellow tints in them. What was going on…? 

Sapnap got out of the bed, walking around his room. “Can you randomly go colorblind…?” He muttered to himself. Maybe he could go look in Dream’s room to make sure. There was a lot of green in there. Maybe he was being stupid. The Greek man walked out of his room, and went into Dream’s. The greens in his room had also been dulled, and a heavy weight of emptiness hung in the air. Sapnap’s heart pounded in his ears. The feeling of anxiety rose into his throat. He immediately ran out of the room, slamming the door behind him and flying down the staircase. “George!” He called to the other male who was sorting through the chests. 

George looked over at Sapnap, blinking, “Hm?”

“Where’s Dream- I- I have the strangest feeling at the pit of my stomach- and-”

“Sapnap, calm down…” George walked over, putting a hand on his shoulder, “I don’t know.” He shook his head. Sapnap stared in silence for a couple of seconds, before swiping George’s hand away, and walking off. He was stopped in his tracks when someone knocked on the front door. George and Sapnap both looked over in unison. The long tension of who could possibly be behind the door built up, until George walked over to the door to open it. Who was behind the door was surprising. “Eret?”

“Hi, George,” They waved quickly, a small smile appearing on their face.

Sapnap walked over to George’s side, “What are you doing here, Eret?” He said, suspicious.

“Ah, don’t worry, I’m not a threat.” Eret reassured, messing with his own hands, “I came to… deliver some news… actually.” His voice became weak with sorrow, which made Sapnap and George more worried.

“What- what is it?” The knot in Sapnap’s throat tightened.

“I- uhm-” The taller one stuttered, “Dream is dead.” She spoke, frowning further, even behind her shades.

George’s and Sapnap’s hearts seemed to sink simultaneously. “... Dead?” Sapnap echoed. Eret nodded, her gaze falling to her feet. The two tried to stay calm at the sudden news. They glanced at each other, before Sapnap turned back to Eret. “Thank you for- uh- telling us…” 

Eret looked back up, “Of course, and I’m sorry,” They nodded again, before turning and walking off. The other two were left practically dumbfounded and thunderstruck at the doorway. They looked at each other again, before Sapnap suddenly took off running past the bridge, and into the underbrush. George frowned, watching him run off. He knew where he was going. The graveyard. The short male swallowed, before closing the door behind him, and following in Sapnap’s trail. 

Of course, there he was, sitting in front of one of the newer gravestones. It must be Dream’s. George stepped closer, almost hesitantly. He frowned, hearing quiet cries coming from the darker male. “S-” George began, getting choked up on his words, “Sap?” He called. Sapnap flinched, quickly wiping his eyes and turning around to look at George. All he did was stare, tears clouding the boy’s eyes. George felt a ping of pity in his chest, before walking closer. “Sap, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what…?” Sapnap turned back to the gravestone. “You didn’t do anything.” 

George sighed, walking over and sitting next to Sapnap, “I know... I’m saying sorry in a general sense.” He fell silent for a few seconds, before saying, “Do you remember the first time you two hungout? You were so freaked out when Dream slipped down the ravine and ‘died’ for the first time. You almost thought he was really dead, but when he respawned…”  
  


“I was so dumb,” Sapnap laughed through his tears, “I’d never seen people die and respawn like that yet…”

“We were all spooked a bit our first time feeling the ‘death’ experience.” George said, putting a reassuring hand on Sapnap’s shoulder. “My point is; it’s okay. I’m not forcing you to forget so quickly, but recall the good times you two shared, instead of the bad ones. If you linger on the bad thoughts, it’ll make things worse… I istoría tis zoís, right?” _The story of life._ Sapnap smiled a bit, wiping his eyes more. The smile fell as soon as he made contact with the gravestone again. It read;

_‘Rest in Peace, Clay “Dreamwastaken”. A strong, and loyal leader, who always wanted the best for his kingdom and his acquaintances.’_

“Should I just… leave you two alone for a bit? It seems as if you need some privacy to… grief? I guess?” George asked, frowning as he looked over at the Greek man. All Sapnap did was nod. George gave a quick nod back, rising to his feet and walking back to their camp. 

He soon reached his destination, closing the door behind him. George swallowed down the clump in the back of his throat, moving to sit at the table. He messed with his fingers, trying to distract himself from… everything. A heavy cloud of guilt hovered over George. Why? He felt guilty that he couldn’t properly make Sapnap feel better. No one probably could. 

George’s gaze drifted off to the walls. On one of the walls, there hung Dream’s mask. He didn’t really know how it got there, but his immediate thought was; _Dream needs that, doesn’t he?_

No he doesn’t. It finally hit him. Dream was dead, why would he need his mask…? The brunette felt tears build up in his eyes, and suddenly, they fell down his cheeks like waterfalls. He buried his face in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably onto the table below.

After a few solid minutes of crying in his lonesome, George stood up, and made his way down to the loudspeaker system. He had repaired it a couple of nights ago, it even reached into Pogtopia now, so it was all ready. 

_“…So if I press the button, can everyone hear me?”_

_“Yes. Don’t even think about-“_

_“Ahem. Hello, DreamSMP, I would like to make an announcement that George is a pussy! Alright, that’s it, goodnight!”_

_“Come on, George! That was funny!”_

George smiled, walking over to the button. “It was a little funny...” he admitted under his breath, before pressing on it. “H- Hello? This is George. I’m here to make an actual announcement. Everyone, please meet in the auditorium. Yes, I mean everyone. This is important.” He spoke into the speaker, before letting go of the button. He let out a heavy sigh, walking away from the loudspeaker and back up the louder. He hoped his voice was sad enough to attract everyone’s attention, but his voice was usually too monotone to tell. The short brunette made it to the top of the ladder, grabbed Dream’s mask from off of the wall, and walked out of the door, heading to the auditorium. 


	2. The Reign of George

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream is dead, and George is now the new ruler over the SMP... The prophecy finally came true! How long will this last though?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for clarification, bad is sapnap's dad in this au, and i believe he's also his dad in canon lore. if im incorrect, please correct me:)

T o George’s surprise, everyone actually did show up. George stood up on the pedestal that Schlatt usually used. He tapped his fingers nervously, waiting for one person who hasn’t showed up yet. Sapnap. Where was he? Well, figures, he’s probably still at Dream’s grave. George would be surprised if Sapnap  _ did _ show up. Nevertheless, the boy made it just in time. He appeared at George’s side, silently resting a hand on one of George’s to try and calm it down, and to mellow the tapping, as well as simple comfort. Sapnap didn’t make an effort to make eye contact with anyone there, however. He kept his gaze glued on the ground below him, his head hanging sadly. 

George peeled his mismatched gaze away from Sapnap, clearing his throat, and turning on the mic with his free hand. “Hello, everyone. I feel like it’s best if I just cut to the chase here…” He inhaled sharply, gripping the podium. “Eret came to us this morning… and… reported that Dream was dead.” His own gaze lowered, failing to maintain eye contact with the others. The audience stared in shock. Well, everyone but Eret, of course. They already knew about the death, so why fake your surprise again?

Karl slipped out of the crowd, and over to the side of the stage. He absentmindedly had walked right onto the stage, stepping over to Sapnap. “S- Sap- are you-...” He mumbled, trying to form a proper sentence, but failing from panic. All Sapnap did was look over, turn to face Karl, and hug him. Karl hugged him back. “Hey, hey it’s okay…” The boy in the tie dye hoodie said, comforting Sapnap as best he could. George looked over as this was happening, before turning back to the audience below. He was about to speak, before being interrupted.

“Well, if Eret saw Dream die, he must know who the killer is, right?” The sudden question was from Tommy. 

“Tommy, let them mourn for a second.” A tall brunette in a trenchcoat by the name of Wilbur said. “Someone they care about died. Don’t jump to conclusions just yet.”

“No, no Tommy has a point.” George said to Wilbur and Tommy, before looking back at Eret. “Eret, what did you see, exactly?”

“It was too dark to notice any remarkable features on the killer… but I  _ did  _ find this.” Eret held out her hands, a crown summoning in them. Everyone, even Sapnap and Karl, glanced over all of their eyes meeting with the crown. 

“A crown? Where would that get us?” Fundy, who was right next to Eret, asked.

“If we were to assume that the crown belonged to the killer, and that their crown was missing from atop their head, then it lowers down the list of possible suspects.” Eret said to Fundy. They then looked back up at George. “But why are we worried about the killer so suddenly? He died just last night…”

“What if Dream’s killer is out to kill more people? They could be out for Sapnap and I, or even Schlatt, or Tommy, since they’re powerful. We want to kill off the parasite before it grows, spreads, and gets stronger.” George said. 

“So, who all has crowns..?” Sapnap turned to ask, his voice weak. 

“I have a crown,” Eret spoke up, “but mine is upon my head, and last time I checked, I don’t have spares. And I think the only other ones with crowns are Technoblade and Niki, even yet, Niki’s crown is more of a tiara.”

“It is a tiara.” Niki quietly confirmed. 

“Right.” Eret nodded.

“So that leaves… Technoblade?” Sapnap said, looking over to the pigman. Everyone else followed Sapnap’s gaze.

Technoblade’s gaze moved up from his trident, and scanned throughout the area. Why was everyone looking at him? "I wasn't paying attention, what are we talking about?"

George narrowed his gaze. “Where were you at the time of Dream’s death?” He asked.

“Farmin' potatoes." Technoblade said blandly. "What else do I do?"

Sapnap glanced over to George. “He has a point.” He said.

George looked back over to the crown in Eret’s hand. No, no Technoblade has to be lying. There is no other way. “Are you sure?” He asked, looking at Techno. 

"Yeah I'm pretty sure, take a look at the numbers. ONE MILLION POTATOES" The royal swine proclaimed. "But uh, I'm not liking the look you guys are giving me, the societal pressure right now is real." He remarked.

“Then how did your crown appear at the crime scene?” George pushed. 

"HEH?" The pig said in a panic. Reaching for his head, his hand grabbing naught but air. "MYY CROOOWWNNN!" Technoblade gasped dramatically. Falling to the ground, he yells out to the world. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Everyone blinked in confusion, before turning back to George, as if he were the one to make the decision. They were all looking to him for command. George frowned a bit, glancing over to Eret. “Eret, check the crown for a name.” He ordered.

Eret looked down at the crown in their hands, turning it around and looking for some sort of name, signature, or symbol. A potato was there, engraved into the gold. They sighed, eyeing George. “The crown is definitely Technoblade’s.” They confirmed.

“Then that should seal it.” George says. “Technoblade is Dream’s killer. Tommy, Tubbo,” he turned, “escort him out.” Tommy and Tubbo glanced up at George, then over at Technoblade. The blond nodded slightly, walking over to Technoblade. The brunette followed. Tommy murmured something into Technoblade’s ear as the two escorted him out. George didn’t care where they took him, as long as it wasn’t here. 

“If he killed Dream, shouldn’t he have been… executed?” Sapnap asked George.

Immediately following Sapnap's inquiry, they hear a faint voice echo from inside the forest.  _ "Technoblade never dies!" _

“Fair enough,” Sapnap responded with a light shrug.

“Now that Dream is gone… this server is in need of a new ruler.” George said. “Dream said once; ‘ _ One day, George, the sun will set on my time here and it will rise with you as the new king’… _ So, I believe that it is now my turn as your ruler, your emperor of this server.” He inhaled sharply, trying to regain his confidence. “You all will follow under my command. Sapnap will be my second in command.”

Everyone in the crowd silently nodded at George’s statement. Sapnap watched the crowd, before looking back at George. Something… clearly didn’t add up. How could they all just agree that Technoblade was the killer based off of his crown…? In fact, now that he recalled, he was out with Karl all day and night, and he saw Technoblade out farming… Eret was the one who saw Dream die, and the one who found Techno’s crown at the scene where Dream died… Did he frame Techno and kill Dream himself…? This was all so confusing. All he wanted to do was hide in his room and cry, he didn’t even want to be here, but it was his best friend’s coronation. Well, self-coronation, but one nevertheless. He watched as George summoned Dream’s mask, right into his hands, and put it on as if it were nothing. How could everyone else not see it? Something definitely wasn’t right.

…

A few hours passed by since the coronation. Sapnap decided that it would be best for him to confront Eret about Dream’s death himself, and to see what they really knew. Sapnap soon made it to Eret’s large castle, looking around at the towering walls. The entryway was a large drawbridge with two rainbow homosexual flags hanging down on either side. The two flags fluttered gently in the morning breeze. The Greek man was hesitant at first, but eventually took a step into the entryway. The noises from outside seemed to have come to a stop when the sound of a slamming drawbridge sounded behind him. He spun around. He was locked in now, no turning back. Had Eret expected him? Sapnap shook his head and kept going. The only sound was the echoes of his steps. Once he reached the end of the main hall, there was another doorway that led into the throne room. Sapnap entered, seeing Eret sat atop their throne, messing with Technoblade’s crown in their hand. “Eret?” Sapnap asked, his voice breaking the silence. 

Eret took her gaze off of the crown in her hands. “Ah, Sapnap, what brings you here?” She asked, readjusting herself on the throne. 

“I came to ask you about Dream’s murder…” Sapnap said, focusing his hardened gaze on the white-eyed royalty. 

“I’m not surprised. You think I’m the true murderer, yes?” Eret calmly asked, tapping the crown with his fingertips.

Sapnap was afraid to admit it at first. He didn’t want to be accusing people left and right like this, let alone his own friends. Nevertheless; “Yes. I- I do.” He nodded.

“Ah,” Eret moved, stepping down from the throne, “you probably think I lied about being a witness…” they walked closer to Sapnap, “that I went along with blaming Technoblade, solely to clear my name, right?”

“It’s logical, is it not?” Sapnap arched a brow, taking a defensive stance as Eret walked closer. 

“Oh, very. Very logical.” Eret confirmed, stopping in her tracks once she was but a foot away from the Greek man. “But I can promise you that I wish not to interfere with all of your problems anymore. I welcome outsiders into my kingdom, ones who are no longer accepted into Manburg and Pogtopia. I watch you all fall from within the shadows. It’ll be stupid if I did such a thing.” She took a few steps back. “You’re on the right track, I assure you, but you most likely have the wrong culprit.” She turned on her heel, stepping back up onto her throne. “I wish not to be accused for something so dumb.” 

“I- I’m sorry,” Sapnap swallowed, “but then… who  _ did  _ kill Dream…?” 

“I’m not sure. But even if I did, I told you I watched from the shadows. I’m not revealing further than what I already have.”

Sapnap huffed. “You were probably right… we shouldn't suspect so early. That might be what the culprit would want anyway… but that doesn’t mean I’m not suspicious of you.” 

“Very well. You have every right to feel that way.” Eret lifted their hand, examining their nails for a moment. “Is that all?” They said after some silence, looking back up at Sapnap.

Sapnap nodded, “I suppose, thank you.” He turned exiting the castle back the way he came in. 

Eret nodded, a calm smile spreading across his face as he watched the Greek man leave. He then turned to one of the side corridors. “What if you helped them?” He called, as if a third person had been sitting there and secretly listening to the conversation. 

And so a third person revealed themselves, coming out of the corridor and stepping into the main throne room. He looked up at Eret. “Why would I go back there? Into that big mess? No way.” He spat in a strong Dutch accent. 

“You never know, Fundy.” Eret’s smile only grew. “Good things might happen.”

“There’s also a high percentage of  _ bad _ things that can happen.” Fundy’s fox tail lashed.

“Well, you’ll never know unless you try, right?” 

Fundy stared for a moment, his tail calming and brushing against the floor behind him. “Then- then I guess I’ll help them when my time comes.”

“Good, good.” Eret looked back to the crown on the side desk. They picked it up, gazing at it one more time. “... I should give this back to Techno, shouldn't I?”

…

George had only a few minutes before Skeppy and Badboyhalo made their way over to their base. He decided that he would spend those few minutes still trying to let go of Dream’s death, and accept that this is what he wanted to happen. That he was in fact the new emperor. I istoría tis zoís. It’s what Dream intended from the very beginning, and he had to live with it. 

But the thought still caved in on him. Why would Technoblade kill Dream like that…? Maybe someone framed him for the murder… Eret? No, no it can’t be Eret. They promised not to interfere anymore unless needed to. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, though. What if the killer wants them to feed on paranoia, like they already have been?

George sighed as another thought filled his head. He still needed to do something about him not being there for everyone… he felt horrible for all of the things he’s caused. Dream couldn’t do anything to help, so George could prove how great of a leader he is and help them instead. A smile spread across the new ruler’s face. It was time for a new awakening in the DreamSMP. It was time for a greater king to save this server once and for all, and he was willing to do whatever to achieve that goal. A knock on the door suddenly interrupted his thoughts. “Come in.”

Skeppy and Badboyhalo walked through the door. “What is it you need us for, George?” Bad asked, flicking his tail. 

“I’ve been meaning to tear this down, and replace it with a castle. A castle similar to Eret’s, but my own.” George explained. 

“Talk about selfish!” Skeppy teased. “What are the blueprints?”

George blinked, clearly unamused, before turning over to one of the chests and opening it. He then grabbed a few files. “Come.” He said quickly, passing Bad and Skeppy out onto the bridge. George knelt down and set the blueprints on the floor. It showed the plans for a castle strictly made out of the different varieties of blackstone. “We have tons of blackstone in the chests, I just need you two to tear this entire thing down and replace it. I have other stuff to do. Is that alright?”

Bad gave Skeppy a questioned look, before he turned back to George. “We can build it! We understand that you’re busy.” He sympathized, glancing from the blueprints to George then back at the blueprints again. 

George was satisfied with his answer. A smile plastered over his face. “Great, great. If you two need help, I believe Ant is free to help you.” The shorter male stood back up, handing the blueprints to the demon, and turned to walk off. He had important meetings to attend to. 

…

Silence. It was the middle of the day, but there was silence. George approached the festival grounds and the auditorium. The sun’s rays poured onto the land, and the only sounds that could be heard were birds from within the trees around him. George smiled. He knew that one day, he was going to declare peace throughout all of the land. It was going to be one of his first orders of business. He needed to fix all of what he’s done.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a dark, heavy cloud that overpowered the potential peace of the land. George glanced over to the auditorium. The clouds parted to make way for Schlatt. He directed his gaze to George, grinning a small bit. “What took you so long, George? You’re never late to a meeting!”

George readjusted Dream’s mask that he was wearing. He had almost forgotten he was wearing it. “I'm the ruler of this server now. I have other things to do than to meet up with you, Schlatt.  _ Much more important _ things, actually.” He spat.

“Don’t give me attitude now, George.” Schlatt glared, hopping down from the stage. “This meeting is important. Follow me.” The ram man spun on his heel, directing George to the back of the stage. He followed, of course. Schlatt then gestured to the hill in the distance. “Look.” George obliged. “What do you see?”

The ruler narrowed his eyes. In the distance, there was a barren hill that George had sworn there was something there before. He stared at it for longer. Didn’t the White House used to be there? “The… White House was torn down…?”

“That’s right.” The two met their gazes back towards each other. “Do you know what I had to do to do that?” Schlatt said.

“...I don’t see how this has any importance to… anything-”

“I lost Quackity.” Schlatt said bluntly, grabbing George’s shoulders. “He betrayed us, George. He left us for Pogtopia, never to return. I need you to be my right hand man. I need you to be on my side, George. Work for me in secret, we can rule this land together! I just need to stay in power. Please, George.”

George stared for a moment, before glancing away in the midst of thought. This is definitely not what he wanted to do. He needed to fix his problems, not create more. He needed to decline Schlatt’s offer. He wanted to maintain peace, and create a paradise for everyone. Something that the Dream nor Schlatt obviously couldn’t do. But… he had no idea what Schlatt was capable of. If he said no, Schlatt could force himself onto George’s throne. He could take matters into his own hands and make everything worse. George needed to prevent that. “...” George looked back to Schlatt. “Of course I’ll help you! I’ve been on your side for all of this time, I can’t just betray you now, right?”

Schlatt smiled. A chilling smile, that forced the hairs on the back of George’s neck to stand. “Good. I’m counting on you, George. Meet me tonight.” He said, before turning and walking off. 

George watched Schlatt walk off. “Aren’t you all.” He muttered, fixing the mask on his face. He walked off in the complete other direction. On the way to whichever destination he landed, he kept thinking about how he could stop Schlatt. He needed to end his tyranny once and for all… That’s it. He needed to kill Schlatt. Once Schlatt gets on his high horse again he’ll kill him… He’ll get rid of Schlatt once and for all. 

Now, he can’t let people know that he killed Schlatt, once he does. If they all found out, they could also find out that- “Hey, George!” A sudden voice interrupted George’s thoughts. He looked over to see Wilbur climbing down a hill to reach the emperor. 

George smiled, an idea coming to his head. Wilbur wasn’t fond of Schlatt, right? He was ruler of a falling nation, maybe George could help them in return of Wilbur helping in the murder of Schlatt. “Wilbur! Long time no see.” He grinned further, walking closer to the other. 

“Long time no see in deed. What’s it like being king now? ‘King George’! Isn’t that something Dream always wanted of you?” Wilbur asked.

George chuckled a bit. “Haha, yeah, it’s been great so far…!... Wilbur, can I just cut straight to the point?”

“Of course, of course. What is it, my dear friend.” The tone in Wilbur’s voice concerned George for a second. What did he miss? Had Wilbur gone mad too..? Whatever, he trusted Wilbur. He knew that he disliked Schlatt as much as everyone else. He needed his help. 

“I want to take down Schlatt.” George said. “I’m going to use my power to everyone’s advantage and take down Schlatt once and for all.” 

“Oh, I see… so everyone from the Schlatt Administration is choosing to betray him… Interesting. You know, I don’t trust Quackity. Hell, I don’t even fully trust Tubbo. But Quackity was the one who stood by and let all of this happen. Did he tell you that it was your fault?” George nodded after a couple of moments. Wilbur chuckled. “I knew it. Quackity was trying to manipulate you. He was taking his anger out on you, when truly, he should have been angry with himself. He was the one who stood by and let it all happen, and he just decides to betray Schlatt  _ now _ ? Why couldn’t he do it all earlier? Now, I understand your point of view, and I trust you, because you haven’t been here to see all of it. You’ve been off doing your own thing for so many days, but you have some insight on what happened, and you don’t want to join Pogtopia, right? You’re already king of this server.”

“I want to help Pogtopia in return for you helping me kill Schlatt.” George said. 

“What  _ kind  _ of help would you be returning to us?”

“We can cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Wilbur took a couple of moments to think to himself, before speaking again. “Alright, I have an idea already of how you can help!” He beamed.

“Oh really?” George arched a brow. “Do tell.”

“Dream is gone now, but you’re almost like the new Dream, right? Now, he promised me that no matter what happened, I could eventually blow this entire place to smithereens. No matter what. And by helping Pogtopia, I need you to keep Dream’s promise, hold onto it, and promise me that I can still maintain the chaos Dream always wished for.”

George narrowed his eyes. What? ...Dream made that promise? George wanted to keep the chaos under control, not create more of it. All he needed right now was Wilbur’s help. “I’ll think about it.” He said. “Now, I was thinking about shifting the blame of the murder onto someone else…” George changed the subject, “murder is still murder, especially if we’re on hardcore mode now, murderers should be recieving some sort of punishment.”

“Shift the blame onto Quackity. Get your revenge for how he manipulated you.” Wilbur insisted.

“I- I don’t know if that’s a good idea…” George shook his head.

“Why not? He manipulated you, George! Besides, it would be so easy to kill him off just like that, you would get off scot free, no worries. I can even help with the blaming!”

The emperor blinked, before arching a brow. “How so?”

“He’s in Pogtopia now, right? I could say that we hired Quackity to finally kill Schlatt once and for all, and everyone can celebrate. Until, that is, you reveal what he’s done, and everyone turns on Quackity. You present the idea of death as the punishment, and they all agree!” 

George frowned for a moment. Wouldn’t that just create more chaos…? But he trusted Wilbur. He had to trust Wilbur. He nodded. “Okay. I trust you… He  _ did _ manipulate me, after all.”

“Great! Now, all you have to do is actually kill Schlatt, and our plan will be set into motion.” Wilbur grinned.

George smiled along. He was too far down the rabbit hole to climb back up. There’s no turning back now. He had to kill Schlatt, in order to save everyone. “That, I will. Tonight, Wilbur.” He spoke, before turning to walk off. George needed to find Sapnap now. He needed to see if he was okay.

The emperor made his way back to the community house. It was halfway torn down by now, but Skeppy and Bad were still working. Sapnap stood by the bamboo, watching in shock from afar. George stepped to Sapnap’s side, glancing over to him. “I’m replacing it with a castle.” He explained, his voice hushed.

Sapnap’s lips parted, as if he were about to speak before George did so. He bit back on his tongue, meeting his aqua gaze with mismatched ones. Sapnap took a breath, before saying a simple word. “Why?”

“There is no use of the community house now. I wish to replace it with a castle. It’ll be like the original one, but bigger! It’ll have separate rooms for me, you, and whoever I choose to work close with me.” George explained, looking at the growing destruction. He moved the mask on his face to see more clearly. “I want to unite everyone, Sapnap. I want to unite us into one nation… no more wars… no more deaths… no more tyranny.” His voice grew quieter with each word. “A paradise. For all of us. For you.” George paused to swallow. He looked back at Sapnap for a reaction. “You’ve all been through so much.” The emperor mumbled in conclusion.

A small smile crept onto Sapnap’s face. “Really? You… want to fix all of this? You think you can accomplish that?” His voice, which was usually rough, turned soft.

Sapnap’s smile was contagious. George smiled back, a genuine smile. “Of course I can. I’m  _ George _ .” He gloated. 

Sapnap chuckled. “You know, I knew you would make a badass king.” 

“Really?” George replied, once again.

“Duh! I believe in you, George. I believe that whatever you have in store for this server will benefit us all. I trust you, and I know that our ancestors are looking down on you-  _ Dream _ is looking down on you, and they’re all proud.”

George let Sapnap’s words sink in for a moment, before his smile grew. “I want to learn more about them. Our ancestors.”

“I heard Schlatt and Wilbur were friends with some of them.” Sapnap mentioned.

“The SMPLive group, right?”

The Greek man nodded. “Mhm. I think after they died out, Schlatt and Wilbur were the only ones to make it out alive… Trippy, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… and soon, you and I will be considered ancestors, or even gods, to others.” 

Sapnap stared at the other for a moment, gnawing on his tongue as he contemplated his thoughts. “I- um…” he started, “I think someone already considers you a god.” The dark haired male muttered, his lips curling into a soft smile.

“Who?” George’s mismatched eyes shined with innocence and confusion.

The knot in Sapnap’s throat tightened. His smile fell, and he choked on his own words. “Uh…” His brows furrowed, his gaze sliding away from George and onto the disassembled community house. “Never mind. Let’s go check on Skeppy and Dad, yeah?”

George blinked. He forgot that Bad was Sapnap’s father for a moment. “Oh, alright.” He followed Sapnap’s eyes, before the two of them started walking over. George was still confused about what Sapnap meant by ‘someone already considers you a god.’ Who was he talking about? 

“Dad! Skep!” Sapnap’s sudden call interrupted his thoughts. George fixed the mask to cover his face once again.

Bad glanced over to see Sapnap and George. The demon smiled. “Hi guys!” He unsummoned the axe in his hand. Sapnap ran into Bad, almost knocking him down with his aggressive hug. They both laughed. “Sap!” Bad chirped, holding his son close. 

“Hi! We just came to check on you guys.” Sapnap explained, a grin still plastered on his face. 

“We’re doing just fine now,” Bad replied, “you don’t have to waste your time over here, don’t you two have important things to do?” Sapnap glanced over to George, as if he were supposed to answer that question.

“Ah- right. Sapnap, I needed to talk to you anyway.” George said. “You guys are alright though, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about us.” Skeppy chimed in.

Sapnap let go of Bad. “Alright, well, should we get going?” The Greek man asked George.

“I suppose so.” George gave Skeppy and Bad one last glance before turning away, and walking in the other direction. Sapnap followed, his beaming grin slowly fading away. What did George need to talk to him about? The lingering thought twisted and turned in his stomach. The two walked on, past the hill where the White House was, across the river, and into the forest. They stopped once they reached a tree. George then proceeded to climb it. It was one of the taller ones, nothing the two couldn’t handle though. And so, Sapnap followed him. But suddenly, George stopped half way.

“What?” Sapnap arched a brow.

“... Is this tree rotting?” George muttered, feeling the bark.

“Wouldn’t be surprised,” Sapnap climbed up to George’s side, “these trees have been here for eons, almost… and this forest isn’t in… the  _ best  _ condition.” He chuckled a bit, referring to the numerous times he had almost burnt down the entire forest due to his arsonistic instincts. They all continuously repaired it and replanted the trees together. Some of the trees survived the forest fires, the tree that they were on must be one of them. Nevertheless, George was right. The tree was growing fungi, and the bark was shaving away by the minute. Rotting was a slow, but continuous process. The tree must’ve been hundreds of years old, as Sapnap said. “Should we go find a... healthier tree?” The dark haired male asked.

“Yes,” is what George  _ wanted _ to say, but he had faith in this tree. Something inside told him that this tree would last. This tree would stand tall until it’s supposed to fall. George would guarantee that. “No,” is what George  _ actually _ said, “this tree won’t fall. I know it won’t.” 

Sapnap gave George a weird look. “What?” He questioned. “It’s literally  _ rotting _ as we speak, George.”

“No, we’re climbing this tree.” George retorted, a small smirk spreading across his face. Sapnap parted his lips to argue back, but George was already climbing higher and higher into the tree. He glared up at the emperor, combatively climbing the tree to reach George.

“If you fall off, I’m not saving you.” Sapnap muttered in hostility. George only smirked further, as he stopped climbing and hopped onto one of the tree’s limbs. He sat, innocently glancing down at the rest of the forest. Sapnap soon reached the shorter one, and sat down next to him. “What did you want to talk about?” He asked, genuinely. The bitterness in his voice faded away in a split second.

“I wanted to ask you… uh…” George began, his words only a quiet noise drifting away in the breeze. “Are you okay?” His gaze wandered off elsewhere.

“What?”

“Are you okay.” George repeated, turning to face Sapnap now.

“...” The dark haired boy thought for a moment. He was alright, but in the long run… “My best friend just died. Like… died permanently. And I can’t do anything about it. What do you think.” Sapnap gnarred, his eyes narrowing. 

George frowned. “I guess that answers my question…” He took off the mask he was wearing, and stared down at it. “He would be proud of you too, you know.”

“Huh?”

“He would be proud of both of us, not just me.” George explained further. “And he wouldn’t want you to hold on. He would want you to forgive and forget… I’m here for you too, you know. A lot of us are.”

“I know, but I don’t want to be babied around either. I can take care of myself, I’m fine.”

“You just said you weren’t.”

“And I regret saying that. I don’t want people to treat me like I’m weak, like I'm less than they are. I’m a person too, you know.”

“S-”

“And I’m not even that young! I’m fucking nineteen. I’m an adult.”

“Sapnap-”

“I’m old enough to take care of myself, but no, everyone who is older than me has to treat me like I’m a sheet of glass, like I’m fucking fragile, when I’m not!”

“Sapnap.”

“What!?” The Greek man lashed. A couple of moments of silence washed over the two. George’s gaze darted back down at the mask in his hands. He let his own body relax, as well as the other’s. They ignored the slow swaying of the old, rotting tree.

“I doubt that anyone here sees you as weak.” The emperor said after a while. “You’re just…-”

“What? Childish? Stupid?”

“Reckless.” George looked up again, only to see a reaction. Sapnap’s broad brows were knitted together in both confusion and bubbling anger. The shorter male sighed as the tree swayed more, “you usually don’t think before you do something, and you don’t regard the consequences that lie ahead of you. You’re reckless, Sapnap.” Sapnap scoffed, extending his arms up into the air to crack his knuckles and stretch his muscles. He didn’t say a word. “I wasn’t babying you, by the way, I was just... concerned.” 

“Whatever, let’s just go.”

“But are you alright?” George asked again.

“...” Sapnap looked over, his brows loosening and his eyes softening, “yeah. I’m alright.” He looked away again, his eyes directing towards the underbrush. The tree’s bark suddenly began to snap from below them. The rotting part of the tree opened a crack within the stem, and it soon began to give way, falling onto one side. Before Sapnap knew it, he summoned an Ender Pearl, and teleported his way into the nest tree over to save himself. The branch that the two were sitting on soon fell and George tumbled onto the forest floor without time to think about what he should do or what was happening. He landed with a loud  _ THUD! _

Sapnap, who was still in the other tree, noticed how the rotting one was still falling. It was going to fall right onto George if he didn’t do something. The dark haired male suddenly pearled his way back down to George without even thinking, and summoned his axe, destroying the tree before it hit the ground.

All George could see was Sapnap’s back, and him lifting an axe into the air. He closed his eyes, in case something hit him when the axe collided with the decaying timber. Once his eyes opened back up, the tree was gone, and all that stood in front of him was Sapnap. The dark haired male clasped the axe in his hands, before he looked over his shoulder and back at George. “Guess my recklessness can come in handy sometimes.” He taunted, a smirk forming on his lips.

George held the mask in his arms closer to him, arching a brow. “ _ Sometimes. _ ” He emphasized. Sapnap ignored George’s remark, extending a hand to help his friend up on his feet again.

“You like my new axe?” Sapnap said, before he fell back into seriousness. “You okay?” Sapnap asked, concern painting across his face.

George grabbed the other’s hand, and got yanked up. “Yeah, I’m alright. And I like your new axe a lot.”

The Greek male bit the inside of his lip in thought. “Sorry for… going off on you… by the way.” Sapnap said after a number of seconds.

The emperor smiled, cooly putting the mask back onto his face. Good thing the thing didn’t get damaged on his way down. “I’m used to it by now.” George tantalized, resting a hand on Sapnap’s shoulder. “Let’s head back, yeah? I need to gather everyone in the auditorium again. I have to hold a proper coronation, do I not?”

Sapnap blinked in surprise. Right! George wasn’t even officially the leader yet. He still needed to appoint other roles as well. Hopefully George is wise when picking those roles. “Fine by me.” Sapnap smiled back. The two then walked back across the river and into the land of Manburg. They then parted ways, Sapnap heading back to the community house to announce the coronation, as George headed to the auditorium.

…

“Welcome back, everyone.” George smiled down at them all. “Apologies for gathering you here once again on very short notice, but I realized I haven’t had a proper coronation yet. I also have a few other announcements after that.” 

“Oh! George!” Someone called from within the crowd. George met his gaze with the source of the voice. Eret then walked over and up onto the stage. “I made you a crown.” They said to George. “You’re a proper king now, you deserve a proper crown, if people are going to refer to you as such.”

The emperor smiled at the other king. “I’m glad you’re here to help me out. You’ll still be considered a king as well, and keep your castle and your riches…”

“You’ll just have more power than I?”

George laughed, “I suppose.”

Eret laughed as well, before they took out a crown. It was a normal, golden crested crown with blue and red jewels. “Here.”

“Oh.”

“What?”

“I dunno, I just thought you were going to give me Technoblade’s crown or something, but no. You actually made one just for me.” George said, but sounded pleased with the headwear. 

“Oh no,” Eret shook their head, “I gave Techno back his crown. Figured he’d need it. I think it’s what makes him immortal.” 

“Fair enough. Should we get this started?” George suggested.

“Right, right…” Eret cleared their throat, “Repeat after me,  _ I, Georgenotfound,” _ They began.

“ _ I, Georgenotfound… _ ” George repeated, trying not to sound awkward as he did. 

“ _ Am fit to rule over the DreamSMP. _ ”

“ _ Am fit to rule over the DreamSMP. _ ”

“ _ And will protect my land, no matter the cause. _ ”

“ _ And will protect my land, no matter the cause. _ ”

“ _ Through dark and light, through heat and snow, and through thick and thin. _ ”

“ _ Through dark and light, through heat and snow, and through thick and thin. _ ”

“ _ I rule over everything the light touches. _ ”

“ _ I rule over everything the light touches. _ ”

Eret grinned. “Well, then, I now pronounce you Georgenotfound, Ruler of the DreamSMP.” They lifted the crown, and gently put it on George’s head. Everything was silent for a moment, before George turned to everyone else. The crowd then started to cheer for their new ruler. The short man grinned, exhilaration filling him once again. He couldn’t believe this new excitement of being a ruler. Of commanding dozens of people. The land that they all walked on was his own. It was the birth of a new era. All hail King George!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> an explanation for the 'ancestors', it's referring to the older mcyters. smplive members, stampy, dantdm, popularmmos, etc. people who dont play minecraft as much anymore or arent as popular as they used to be. the older mcyt generation before dream and the dreamsmp

**Author's Note:**

> hi guys uhhh i j wanted to let u know that i'll be uploading a couple of bonus scenes separately so watch out for that :)


End file.
